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Hey guys! As many of you know, I'm someone who much prefers doing my own nails rather than going to the salon to have them done. I like that I get to save money doing it myself, as well as go at my own pace and watch TV while I polish. The only problem is I can never wait for it to dry. I always end up smudging the nails before I even get to enjoy it. That's why I decided to give myself a gel manicure. It took a while to get the hang of it, but I really enjoy the process now and save a ton of money! So I filmed a tutorial showing you exactly what I do, including some tips and tricks I've learned after doing it for about 5-6 months.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UzZZnI6YY0&index=1&list=PLxLwpaoPWsNMLW-9siepzzBVJdvitcHY0I've tried lots of the at home gel kits and my favorite is the Sally Hansen one, mainly because the removal is so easy. I literally just peel the gel off in one or two pieces when the edges start to lift in a week or two. I'm not sure you're supposed to do that, but its SO much easier than having to remove gel polish the "right" way. I don't feel like it's stripping my nail the way it does when I peel of gel from the salon... so who knows! The only downside is I wish there were more shades of polish to pick from.

I bought my Sally Hansen Gel Starter Kit for $59.00 at Walgreens, but I found it on Drugstore.com here: http://rstyle.me/~7pJGM on sale for $39.00 and free shipping. The starter kit comes in three different versions. They're all the exact same except the polish color is different. "Shell We Dance" is a sheer bubblegum pink, don't let the color on the box fool you, it doesn't look like that. That being said, it's the only shade I've found so far that doesn't come out exactly how it's pictured. You can also get the kit in "Red My Lips" which is a true red or "Wine Not" which is a burgundy. I would recommend one of those, mainly because I don't like how bubblegum but pale the "Shell We Dance" is.

The kit comes with a 6 watt LED lamp with auto-timer, gel base coat, gel nail color, gel top coat, 10 nail cleanser pads, acetone remover, cuticle stick, file, buffer and instruction sheet. The other shades of polish cost anywhere from $7-$13 depending on where you shop. I found them here for $7.62 http://rstyle.me/~7pJYo (I used the shade "Back to the Fuchsia" in the tutorial.) The other products I use in the video are The Deborah Lippman Nail Primer $14.00 (this is the same product I use in the video, but they repackaged it to be a drip top instead of a brush - you just need one drop per nail) and theLush Cosmetics Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter $17.95Hope you enjoy!

Okay, so let me start off by saying this is not the most healthy thing you could eat. Heck, it might even kill ya, but you'll die happy because this stuff is so good.

This is a recipe my mom makes and passed it on to me. It's not something I eat more than a few times a year because it is so unhealthy, but every time I whip it up I have to force myself to stop eating it after half the dish plate is gone.

I love watching unboxing videos, especially when I'm trying to decide whether to invest in a subscription box. So I'm unboxing four boxes for you this month! I'm also canceling one of the beauty boxes, so watch the video to see which box didn't make the battle of the box cut.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r4iJvqXAew&list=PLxLwpaoPWsNMLW-9siepzzBVJdvitcHY0&index=2

I'm still trying to figure out how to stream from my HD Camera instead of my webcam because I would love for the quality of these videos to be better! Also, Elle had borrowed my filming lights which I didn't realize until I was sitting down to film so lighting was a bit off. Sorry about that guys!

What should my next LIVE video be? I'm thinking maybe a live everyday makeup tutorial?!

Hey guys! I wanted to try something special to kick off the New Year! Typically, I film a video, then edit out the randomness, upload it to YouTube and y'all can watch it. I decided it would be fun to "film" a video LIVE so you guys can see what I really say - unedited. After the video, I will have a few minutes to answer questions that you guys have on that video topic, or that is something you just want to ask me. For this first video, I thought it would be great to show you my favorite beauty products of 2015! I'll also share some of my favorite memories from the year and would love for you to share yours in the comments! If we enjoy this style video, I'll make it a more regular thing in 2016!

I also understand the quality of this video isn't the best. Because I was on vacation in Florida, I only had my MacBook webcam to stream live from. For the next video I will be streaming from my HD Camera so it should be a much better picture.

What should my next LIVE video be? I'm thinking maybe a What's in my Bag?! I also want to make a LIVE schedule so you guys can see when the next one will be and try to catch it! What is the best time for everyone? Weekdays after school/work or weekends?

As some of you may remember, my sister and I used to run a blog called elleandblair.com . That site was my baby and I did at least one blog post every single day for over a year on it. When the blog was unexpectedly taken down (this was out of our control, and unfortunately it's been a nightmare trying to bring it back) I lost a little bit of my passion for writing. Not because I didn't enjoy it anymore, but a site that I had put so much time and effort into just simply vanished one day, and there was nothing I could do about it. That was a tough pill for me to swallow, but we worked diligently to try to get the site back with the years worth of content we had put into it. A couple months later, when it was more clear that elleandblair wouldn't be coming back, I sat down to make a new site.

You might recall my very short lived "Crushing on Chic" posts. I won't make excuses for that blog, it was borderline pathetic. I think I maybe wrote five posts before feeling discouraged that all of my hard work and blogs I'd already shared with you were gone, floating around in a sea of zeros and ones. I drifted further and further away from blogging until it wasn't a daily habit for me anymore, but that doesn't mean it didn't constantly cross my mind. I would always think, "Oh! I need to blog about this!" Then remember that elleandblair was down and tell myself I would remember the idea for when we got it back. Well... that clearly didn't happen!

I don't know when I'll introduce this blog to the world. I may just post for myself for a while. When I'm ready and feel this could truly be my new one-stop-spot I'll make it public. Until then, it's our little secret.